"Just the fact that he requested to move to that prison: why should he have that choice?" she asked. "He's a murderer."

Molitor was convicted of second-degree murder on Dec. 22, 2004 after Jessica Nethery, 21, was found stabbed 58 times in May 2002.

He's applied for day parole and the Netherys have been calling for people to write in with their memories of the man, to convince the parole board to deny his request.

More than 7,000 people had signed an online petition by early Friday.

But the Netherys are frustrated about having to travel across Canada to face the person who killed a member of their family.

"Why does my family have to pick ourselves up and go to him for this?" asked Stephanie Nethery.

"Because he committed the crime in Sarnia he should have to have his parole hearing in Sarnia."

The date is expected to be Sept. 19 or 20, she said.

A board hearing takes place at the Correctional Service of Canada institution where the offender is being held, an email from the Parole Board of Canada says, noting there's no such facility in Sarnia.

"If a person cannot attend a hearing in person, or prefers not to, this person may submit a written statement, or a video or audio recording this statement," the email reads.

But being on a screen might not convey the impact Molitor had on her family, Nethery said.

"If we do it that way and he's granted parole, are we going to be able to live with ourselves?" she asked. "We want to try and handle this with no regrets."

Their costs for the journey are also being covered by the Department of Justice, she said, noting her family wants people to know how taxpayer money is being spent.

If Molitor's day parole is denied, he could be eligible to reapply as soon as one year after the decision, an email from the parole board says.

"We know that we will have to deal with this repeatedly," wrote Nethery in an email.

"It is a very heavy weight of anger, anxiety, and sorrow, that my family and I will have for the rest of our lives until a change is made in our justice system where murderers go to prison for life, period." she wrote.